LAF Note: This post was written by Tom O’Keefe and is a part of the Young Minds series.
When Lauren asked me to write a post for her Young Minds series, I really had no idea what to write about. I’ve never held a full-time public relations job, I don’t have my own social media or public relations blog, and I, like Katie Wall, frequently ask myself, “Why didn’t I think of that?”, when reading through my Twitter and RSS feeds full of posts from thought leaders in both the public relations and social media fields.
Then I read Dave Fleet’s post on Feeding the Social Media Beast and realized that I’ve been struggling lately with feeding that monster, but in a slightly different way. Instead of feeling like I need to force tweets, blog comments, and blog posts, I’ve been trying to find the time to be able to do those things. My
content well hasn’t run dry, it’s flooded!
See, recently, I began my first full-time job. It’s a yearlong commitment to teach high school as a part of the Jesuit Volunteer Corps. I’ve been quite busy since starting. In just my first three weeks, I’ve taught writing classes, substituted for other teachers, corrected papers, proctored computer time for the students, tutored math, helped with SAT Prep classes, and somehow become the de facto computer guy not trained in IT. On top of that, when I arrive home each night, I have an obligation (and desire) to socialize and interact with my community housemates (not to mention, we don’t have an Internet connection Unless we want to “borrow” a connection from “cheeseburger”).
As a young professional, I want to be able to put 110% into my new job, but I also want to continue tweeting, reading, and commenting on my favorite blogs, building relationships via social media, and chronicling my own experience on my own blog.
I know my job and living situation is somewhat unique, but I also know that many young professionals are beginning their own first full-time jobs.
So, I’m wondering: how do you balance your job and at-home obligations with keeping up on social media? How do you remain committed to your work as well as your professional development online while maintaining a social life?
*Image is a copyright of raggedclothcafe.com.
